The first obstacle to overcome was that, in order for the GAR to fit into a standard NES-001 control deck, you actually had to rip out the guide bar from the cartridge tray. The instructions make it seem simple and harmless, but I can't imagine doing this to my precious NES as a kid.

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The second issue was that the menus and controls were a little more complicated than what kids were used to on an NES. The menu screens were all text and looked more like a computer program than a video game. In order to complete a save state, or use any other functions of the GAR, you have to hit a combination of buttons that would not have come naturally to a kid in the 1990's. 

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The final flaw in the GAR was definitely the worst, however.​ 

Unlike a standard NES game cartridge, where the battery would save the game but the actual game software was permanently written onto ROM chips, the software for the GAR was dependent on the battery holding a charge. So once the battery died the GAR was a useless piece of plastic. The only was to get it working again was to open it up, solder on a new battery, and have someone re-flash the software. Thanks to the hard work of retro video game enthusiasts this is possible to do today. But back then a dead battery would have been the end of this device.

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There are two variations of the Game Action Replay that look a little different, but do the exact same things. The first has a green PCB and a larger battery. The second has a smaller battery, and a PCB covered in so much copper that it appears yellow.